An Up-to-Date Assessment of the Air Quality in Greece with the Use of Modeling Tools

Abstract

A modeling system that consists of the meteorological model WRF and the photochemical model CAMx has been applied in very high horizontal resolution (2 km) in order to assess the air quality in Greece. An updated, high resolution emission inventory was compiled for all the main anthropogenic pollutants (CO, NOx, SO2, NMVOCs, PM10, PM2.5) while emissions from natural sources (dust, sea salt and biogenic NMVOCs) were calculated using the Natural Emissions MOdel (NEMO). Toxic particulates, such as As, Cd, Pb, Ni and benzo-(a)-pyrene, were simulated as inert pollutants. Simulations were performed for one month of every season of the year 2012, namely for the months of January, April, July and October. The comparison of simulated pollutant levels and those measured at the stations of the National Monitoring Network of the Air Quality revealed a satisfactory performance of the photochemical model. Following the EU legislation for the protection of human health and vegetation, the exceedances of the air quality limits were calculated for every grid cell over Greece.